Life can be Difficult

I know that difficult times are not fun at all.  In fact, they can be really awful. I have been wondering lately though. What if I frame my trials in a new way? What if they are the backdrop to highlight the good times? I wonder if, in the hard times, I will change my perspective if I may not even see light amidst the darkness of my hour.

I don't know how to share exactly what has recently happened to me.  It has been profound, scary, exciting, and very unexpected. 

I had not been feeling great for a few days. It wasn't that odd because I just had indigestion. It was bad enough that I didn't attend church that day.  I just didn't feel great. By Monday, I was able to go to lunch with a sweet friend. The next day, I walked my dog, Ellie, and I taught my cardio class at the Wellness Center. It was Halloween.  It was going to be a very busy day. It had gotten super cold, and my hands hurt while I walked Ellie. I figured it was just because I was cold.  I got home, my hands warmed up and the pain went away. 

I had payroll to process at work, I needed to take my mom to get groceries, and I just didn't have time for what happened next.

I finished teaching my class and I could tell I was just a bit off. By the time I was leaving the facility, I called my sister, and she wisely advised me to go to the doctor to get checked out. 

I headed to the nearby Urgent Care. They determined that I was either at risk or was having a heart attack. Gosh!!! WHAT???

But I eat right and exercise!!! How can this be?

I was taken by ambulance to the hospital. I remember traveling in reverse looking out the window at the all too familiar road. I began to pray with a bit of excitement and peace that this could be my last day here on earth. I wasn't hating my life; I was just getting excited that I may be face-to-face with Jesus today!!!!  Oh wow!!

I immediately began to think of all of my wonderful family and friends that I would be leaving behind, which made me tear up. But the peace that fell on me was beyond what I could ever have imagined or put words to. It was that heavy deep breath followed by a full exhale that makes up a sigh of relief and release. (Yeah, still words just cannot do it justice)

For any of you who know me well, this next part will not surprise you. The ambulance driver, the person who was taking care of me, and I started joking around. I smiled, and they smiled. The young lady who rode with me was so busy with my care, but she was still light-hearted with me. Still very much doing everything to keep me alive on that ride. She told me once we got to the ER that she didn't want me to know how bad it was. She elevated my status to get me into a specific room for urgent care. 

I was surrounded by a sea of medical staff all doing their part to get me treated ASAP. The entire staff at Huntsville Hospital was absolutely amazing. I cannot begin to thank them all for the treatment from start to finish. It was quite a day. 

I had a procedure and had to have two stents in two branches of a main artery, and I heard it called the widow maker. 

I was taken to ICU where I slept and struggled with nausea. I remember family and friends coming and going into my room. My daughter Sara Kate stayed with me that night. Unfortunately, she was awakened by hospital ICU staff who quickly removed her from the room. She recalls seeing my body flailing around on the bed. The staff hooked me up to an AED and began chest compressions. I was awakened by a nurse trying to get an oxygen mask on my face. I remember freaking out because I couldn't understand why they had awakened me from such a great sleep. I can attest to a PEACE and rest I have never known. It was the best and deepest sleep. But to be brought back to such chaos was strange. I am still very thankful to the wonderful staff that provided such quick and skillful care for me. 

In the meantime, Sara Kate had been taken to a room to wait. She proceeded to contact Marc, my husband, and my daughter Taylor. Taylor and her husband Caleb were about to board when Sara Kate told her what had happened to me. She didn't know if I had made it or not.  At that point, she was taking off and not able to receive updates until she landed. Taylor said she just slept on the plane. Being in the room alone, Sara Kate turned to see a bible sitting near her. During this difficult storm, she began to read and found peace, hope, and care in the words she kept reading. 

It was one scary event after another. But I can tell you I felt the presence of God during it all. He draws near to us when we seek Him. I sensed His presence more intimately. I don't want to have another heart attack but what happened to me was better than any revival I have experienced in my life.

My heart's ability to pump blood out to the body known as the EF was 30% at the time I was leaving the hospital. I was informed by the cardiologist that the number would need to improve into the 40's and optimally 50's or I would require a pacemaker. 

I began 3 months of cardiac rehabilitation. I am still doing it. But my latest ECO showed my EF is 56%. The optimal range is between 50-70.  I had people praying for me from the east coast to the west coast. Sara Kate placed her hand on me and prayed believing God would heal my heart. My cardiologist said the muscle looked as if I had not had a heart attack. He said from the EKG he could tell I had. 

So why would I want to share this story with you on this Blog? Well primarily to offer hope. I want anyone reading it to know that dark times will come.  The number one thing I heard after this was "But you are the healthiest person I know." Dark times come to all of us at one time or another. Life is not all a bed of roses, but my trials and difficulties provided the perfect context to reveal to me the beautiful perspective of God's love, care, presence, and peace. I would not know just how close He is, how much He comforts me and those I love, had I not gone through it. I would know it with my head, but now I know it because I experienced it. I experienced God through this time. I was so thankful to see Him comforting my family in a variety of ways.

Another reason I wanted to share my experience is to say do not ignore the warning signs. I didn't know that indigestion could be a sign of a heart attack. But since my event, I have been informed. Is every bout of indigestion a reason to go to the ER, NO. But it is good to know that it is a possible sign. 

My family tree has several branches that have a history of heart issues. This was not something I could exercise out or eat well enough to improve it. So, listen to your body. Do not ignore signs but also do not read this and start working yourself up into anxiety that can lead you to a panic attack. Just listen to your body, talk to family and medical staff, seek help if needed, and know that if you call on the LORD Jesus, He will be with you and can provide intimate care for you in the middle of it all.

Call out to Him. He draws near to those who seek Him with their whole heart. He will walk with you through the difficulties. 

Take care of your body. I am including some links for you to check out.

Taking Care of Yourself | American Heart Association

Cardiac Heart Care and Cardiovascular Program by Huntsville Hospital

What Is a ‘Widowmaker’ Heart Attack? | Sharp HealthCare

Why Suffering?

I hope you have a lovely Christmas season. But more than that, I hope you have hope in Jesus Christ.

I recently went through a very challenging time. What transpired was pain, suffering, abundant hope, peace, and comfort. Perhaps it will be one of my upcoming blogs, but this message trumps my experience right now. 

If you have experienced loss, pain, or suffering and it has led you to be angry with God, I hope you will read the quotes below prayerfully. Then, I hope you will cry out to God in your anger. 

I know I have heard the question "Why does God allow suffering and pain?" I realize it is a reason many have rejected God and turned from His offer of salvation. However, I have always had a graciousness toward the Lord in this matter. I always wanted to have an answer when I was asked this perplexing question, but I feel Chip Ingram with the help of the words of C.S. Lewis to answer this question very clearly in the podcast. If you have time, please listen to this message. One of the better ones I have heard on this topic. 

Below are quotes from Chip Ingram from Living on the Edge. His message Jesus Unfiltered - Believe - Jesus - Offers Hope to the Hopeless, Part 2.

His main point: There is hope for the hopeless.

Scripture reference:

John 5:24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life."

Quotes from the message:

"You would rather be sick in your sin. You would rather have the consequences of your sin because you like it. Because you are comfortable in it."

"Ask for help, have mercy on me, and cleanse me. He wants to say yes. He wants to heal us."

"There comes a day when we will be judged. Today is the day if you hear His voice. To say maybe or later is a no. He wants us to say yes and respond to the light."

"Why does suffering/pain exist if God is a good God?"  

Chip quotes CS Lewis in Shadowland with all of these quotes below:

"God creates us free. Free to be selfish." 

"But God adds a mechanism that will penetrate our selfishness and wake us up to the presence of others in the world. That mechanism is called suffering."

"Pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

"Why pain? Why can't He wake us more gently with violins or laughter? Because the dream from which we must be awakened is the dream that all is well. All is not well. If you do not have a relationship with God through the person of Jesus Christ, you are spiritually in a hopeless situation and you need a savior. If you are self-sufficient, you have no need of God. If you do not seek him, you will not find him. The suffering in the world is not the failure of God for us it is his action."

Here is the link to this podcast. These quotes start around the 19-minute mark and on. Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram Daily Podcast: Jesus Unfiltered - Believe - Jesus - Offers Hope to the Hopeless, Part 2 on Apple Podcasts

Word/Spirit/Fire/Light

We need to be in the Word of God. In it, we see what God accomplished for us through Jesus. We will also see what it says about God's long-suffering and endurance with man. The word reveals the tendencies of humans and our forgetfulness. 

In the Word of God, we recognize the flawedness of humanity and our need for help, rescue, and resuscitation. This Word points us to an answer for what ails us. Many never accept this condition and spends their life trying to prove this reality wrong. However, it is a reality. We are incapable of being in a correct connection with the One who created us. We long for it, but we cannot make it happen. The Creator had a plan. He told us if we live our lives according to these instructions, it will go well with us. He longed for it to go well with us. He designed us to have full lives. Lives of hope, joy, and love. We fall short and need help to be right. He made a way for us to be right through Jesus. This is the answer to humanity's frailty. 

Be in the Word of God so that the Word of God can be in you. It will transform you. The Word is where you will find out about the answer which is the Best News Ever for us. 

As you read the Word of God, ask the Holy Spirit to lead you as you read. Allow Him to set the words ablaze in your soul so they truly come to life within you. This is where the Word of God transforms you from the inside out. You become a "living word" to those around you. The world begins to see the glory of the Lord demonstrated through you. This is how we bring light into the darkness of this world. What a magnificent privilege we have to be a vessel for the display of our Creator and Father.

So as we go about our day today, let's be the light!!!

Spirits and Idols

I am becoming aware of my tendency to bow to idols I never realized existed.

There are spirits that can control us. They can be spirits of unworthiness, arrogance, control, subjection, passivity, legalism, or hyper-emotionalism. You name it. I believe those of us who are in Christ and live lives controlled by the Holy Spirit should not fulfill the desires of our flesh. But I also believe that there are times when our flesh wins, and in those times, we are corrupted by sin. Sin is like a sticky substance that allows spirits to attach themselves to our lives.

The remedy for us is to confess our sins. When we do, the Bible promises that He is faithful to forgive us. 

When we do not confess and receive forgiveness for sin, we begin to walk in a manner controlled by a spirit other than the Holy Spirit. We then can become a spiritual tripping hazard for others and for ourselves. We will begin to process our environment through the lens of that controlling spirit. As we do, we will in essence be bowing down to that spirit. If we stay in it long enough, we will begin to expect everyone else to bow down to it as well.

When encountering someone under one of these influences, we will either bow down to that spirit as well, or we will reject the person. I believe we have to stand up to those spirits. 

My tendency is to back away. I am beginning to understand that my passivity to a spirit is, in itself, me bowing down or being controlled by a spirit of passivity. Many of us Christians see combat, warring, and standing up, as the opposite of Christianity. But I am beginning to see a bit differently. Why were we told in scripture to be courageous and not fear? Why are we told to get our ARMOR on? Why are we told to grab our sword of the Spirit and our shield of faith? It is because we are in a war. We are in a battle.

As believers, we are commanded to put on Christ, to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, and to live our lives in obedience to our Commanding Officer’s marching orders, which are found in His Word.

If I am to take a stand for Him, I cannot bow to spirits that are attracted to my sin–nor can I bow to those spirits in others. In our modern world, we no longer bow down to statues erected as idols. Our idols are more subtle. If we give into the influence of a spirit in ourselves or in others, we are bowing down to it. It is time to stand up against this. We need to know who we are and Who we belong to. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, ask for forgiveness for our sins, cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and obey the Word of the Lord. This is the best way to stand up against controlling spirits. 

As I processed these truths before the Lord, I discussed what I wrote with a trusted set of friends. I had one of them review it for me. I am so glad that I did. It was great to get another view or perspective on my story. She simply asked me, "Are the spirits and idols interchangeable or distinct." As I ruminated over that question, it was obvious that I must clarify this. They are indeed one and the same. I think that was the major epiphany I had after I sensed the Lord calling me out on this. I thought I was being godly, and He showed me I was actually bowing down to idols in the form of spirits that were controlling my behavior. He called me out and I see it very clearly now. That clarity is what motivates me to share it with others.

As Christians, we stand for the gospel. Our lives are to be lived in love, yes. But love tells us to do what is best for ourselves and others–not what makes us feel good. We all need to stand up and fight the spirits that are not in agreement with the Holy Spirit. How will we recognize the difference? The Holy Spirit will always line up perfectly with the Word of God. Always.

If you would like further clarity, feel free to comment or send a message to me with your questions.

 

What is Next After Conversion?

What is next after you have converted to Christianity? What does that even mean? 

There are many opinions. 

Jack Hibbs is a pastor from California who said the church is called to make disciples not converts.  I loved that so much. Why? It is not enough to convert. That is simply step one. We are to Grow Up. The last thing Jesus said before leaving his disciples on earth to start the Christian church was to go and make disciples, teaching them to obey all my commands. Conversion is just the start.

So, to begin with, let's clarify the bad news, good news, and the rest of the story. The bad news is the human condition, the church calls it the fall or sin. We are not able to make ourselves right with God which the church calls righteousness without His help. The good news is that He made a way to rectify this through receiving His Son, Jesus to be the payment we need to set things right and the church calls this justification and redemption. When we turn from our sin church calls this repentance and chose to go in the direction of our Creator, seeking Him and His guidance, accepting His solution for our condition the church calls that salvation. The rest of the story is where we live the rest of our saved, converted, Christian lives.

If we spend time learning what He commanded, we will begin to grow up in our relationship with God and others. This is a process the church calls sanctification. This is a lifelong process that will refine us. The great thing about that is it is with the help of the Holy Spirit. He doesn't save us so we will refine ourselves. He even sets us up in an imperfect family of believers who make up the church. We are not alone.

If you want to learn more about this process, Grow Up is a study intended for those seeking what is next after salvation. It is a companion and guide to encourage you to get into the Word of God so that the Word of God can get into you and transform you.

Are you ready to step into the "what's next" for your journey with God? Take the journey. Call others to join you. Doing it together is much better. Encourage a small group of family, friends or neighbors to do it with you.

Grow Up Website for details

Purchase Grow Up Study Use this link if you are interested in purchasing the study.

Grow Up Blog announcing the latest updates now available.

Grow Up is Updated and Ready!

It is official. The books are up and ready for purchase on Amazon. You can also find a link through the website beverlyverhage.com. 

If you know of others that are interested, please help me get the word out. I would love to get this tool in the hands of any seekers and Christians looking to grow in their faith and in community with others. I would love to start getting the word out to bible study groups, churches, small groups, etc. Study available in this link. 

 The study is about growing up spiritually as individuals in Part 1 and growing together with others in Part 2. The study compares our spiritual growth to the manufacturing process of brick making and brick building.

 

Grow UP is here and ready to purchase on Amazon in English and Spanish.  I have completed the pilot group studies, compiled the corrections and updates, and is now ready. 

If you know of groups that may be interested in this study, please forward any of my information.

If you were part of the pilot group, help me get the word out. Or even better, consider leading this study for a group.

My website is beverlyverhage.com. There is a link to the book on Amazon. I look forward to exploring spiritual growth with you on the pages of this book, but more importantly, through the bible. Many blessings to you.

Recommended Bible Studies

I worked through the Bible in a year with the Bible Recap. I did it through the YouVersion app on my phone. I did it with a group called a D-group. 

I recommend many of Jen Wilkin's studies. Our Bible study group will start in February with God of Freedom. We finish our study on Exodus. We completed the first half of the book in the Fall, and prior to that, we studied her studies of Genesis. God of Creation and God of Covenant.

As I look at all of the studies I have done recently, I am beginning to realize that Jen Wilkin has become my new favorite bible study author. She has surpassed Beth Moore's studies I have done.  At the least, they are neck in neck.

I like Jen's approach because she isn't always asking me "how I feel about a verse." That drives me nuts. It doesn't matter how I feel about God's word. I need to know what it means and how to grow in the truth it reveals.  If it provokes a feeling in me, great.

If you are interested in doing one of her studies, you can search for her by name. At least 4 books and 7 studies.

Additional studies I have done of hers and recommend:

    Better a study of Hebrews

    Sermon on the Mount

    1 Peter a Living Hope in Christ

You can find them on her website or at Amazon.

If you are looking for a good book to read on Revelation, I recommend Revealing Revelation

Christmas Card (Light vs Darkness)

As you read this, I pray you will be pressed to turn your eyes upward. Be comforted in knowing the Lord is near. He is Emmanuel, God with us. Therefore, we are never alone if we have received Him.

The darkness is in the world. Can't you feel it? Does it feel like it is getting rapidly darker? The darkness exists within each of us as well.  

It just gets ever-increasingly darker when we do nothing to combat the darkness. That is both without and within. We must actively press back against the darkness.

That is why this great light of Jesus came bursting forth as a baby, who brought the light into the world. He illuminates the darkness that holds us captive and exposes it. He sets us free from its tentacles and guides us into this marvelous light.

 If you sense the intensification of the darkness, look up. Draw in closer to the source of light. He came to bring light into the world. We were not made for the darkness. Sin loves the dark. Run and flee from sin. He is the source of true love, joy, peace, and light.

Only those who love to live in darkness run from the light.

I used to send out Christmas cards every year. I wanted to send them again this year but didn't make it in time. My list needs to be updated, and addresses need to be corrected. So, I decided this year to start by saving the addresses of those who sent and send out cards to those this year. If I start now, I plan to build a new Christmas card list for 2023. 

So, for 2022, this is my Christmas card to each of you. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May the blessings of this wonderful LIGHT fill you with love. May His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May each of you be blessed with the warmth of family and friends. 

Much love to all of you!!!!!

Grow Up: Maturity in Christ Builds Real Community

Today I received word from Amazon that the book I have been working on is finally available for purchase. I am not confident I can accurately express the feelings I have. I am relieved, nervous, and excited, but I am also concerned.

I am relieved because it has been a long, challenging project. I am nervous because I now feel fully exposed. I compare it to having a baby that you believe is the most beautiful in the world, and then you take it out and fear others won't share your insight. I am excited because if I have genuinely written the words the Lord placed on my heart, His work through this book will be amazing in the lives of others and bring Him much glory. However, my concern is always that I do not convey what He places on my heart as clearly or properly. I do not want this bible study tool to be a point of contention. I pray with my whole heart that it will be a place where unity and spiritual growth occur. 

This link to purchase it on Amazon will be both in eBook form and paperback. Grow Up

Please pray with me for the reader. I pray that the Lord opens the eyes of the reader's hearts. So, they may know the power and freedom that comes from walking closely with the Creator of the Universe. I also pray that each reader would become wholly filled with the Holy Spirit and completely satisfied. I pray that the growth that can occur in each brick in the wall of the spiritual church will bring beautiful unity. I pray revival would break out in the church, and our world would turn back to the perfect principles in the Word of God, which is the scripture.

Please consider sharing this blog and help me get the word out about this book.  Thanks, Beverly

New Testament is Refreshing

In reading through the bible in a year, jumping into the New Testament has been like going from the desert to a refreshing water pool. Jesus comes on the scene and breaks the 400-year silence from heaven. He came as a baby. He came as the Word made flesh. I wonder what it was like to hear that sweet baby making his first sound. Oh, how sweet it must have been. I wonder what was happening in the heavenlies as he did? I imagine all of heaven holding their breath in great expectation.

As I was reading the Gospels, each recounts the events of Jesus' life. Some cover a story not covered in the others, or multiple covers a story from different perspectives. I love that they tell the stories this way. It brings such a beautiful tapestry of richness to the stories. 

I was reading about Jesus feeding the 5000 men plus women and children. I have read this story many times in my life. But one thing stood out to me in my reading. It was the time of the Passover. As I am also studying Jen Wilkin's study on Exodus, "God of Deliverance," I am confident that is why I noticed it. We just finished studying Moses, explaining to the Israelites how to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and use the blood to avoid the last plague sent to free them from slavery. He also explained how they were to keep this as a celebration for the years to come to remember how He set them free from slavery. He explains the feast of unleavened bread that they were to observe, which we see observed in John 6.

As I read further in John's record of this story, he shares that Jesus tells them they must eat his flesh and drink his blood to follow him. I laughed so hard as I read this.  I was not being disrespectful but just entering into how the listener must have processed that. I was tickled at how the looks on their faces must have been. Can you imagine? 

Then a bit of sadness washed over me as it went on to say that many stopped following him at that time.

Bear in mind that he had just fed 5000 plus wives and children with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish the day before. All ate and were satisfied with those 5 loaves and 2 fish, and when they gathered up the leftovers, there were 12 baskets full. They met him there because they saw what he had done for the sick. He had been healing many. The following day, he said a hard thing they couldn't understand.

How often does the word of God confront and convict us with the hard stuff, and we walk away or withdraw from Him? What if we did more like the disciples when Jesus asked them, will you leave me now? And we answer him and say, where else will we go? "You have the words of eternal life; we believe and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God."

The words he was saying were true. He is the bread that was sent from heaven, raining down on us like the manna, which was the sustenance for the Israelites. Then with the Passover, it was the unleavened bread because they would be leaving Egypt swiftly and wouldn't have time for the dough to rise. This is so full of meaning. During the Passover observance annually, they would break the bread and eat it together. This all ties in with what Jesus was saying about His body being broken for us. Take and eat it. If we come to him, we will not hunger, for he is the living bread, and he says those who eat it will never die. And he says this bread is his flesh. This is how we abide by consuming his flesh, and John starts his story in John 1 by telling us that the word became "flesh" and dwelled among us.  He lived out the word for us to see. 

He also told us we were to drink his blood. Yes, that is what he said. The blood he speaks of is alive. It brings life to the flesh. When our heart stops beating, our flesh dies. He was the perfect unblemished lamb that was sacrificed for us. John the Baptist said of Jesus, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Just as the Israelites had to apply the blood to the doorframe of their house to avoid death, we, too, must have the blood applied to our flesh so we would not die eternally. Jesus says that those who don't eat his flesh and drink his blood have no life in them. Those who do will have eternal life and be raised with him on the last day.

He says his flesh is true food, and his blood is true drink. He notes that consuming both is how we abide in him and him in us. 

In verse 43, we must note that no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws him. So, let's pray for the drawing of ourselves, our loved ones, our community, and the world. 

From the Old to the New Testament! YAY

From the Mount of Olives

I have spent this year reading my way through the Bible. By the end of the year, I will have read the entire thing.  The women in our church were challenged to do it in Discipleship Groups. I joined with seven other women, and we are doing it together.

I am so glad that I did this. It is officially the first time I have done it somewhat successfully. I have studied the bible in-depth and probably read much of it through studies. This effort is from Genesis to Revelation. Today was a huge marker for me. I read the last book in the Old Testament. I made it to and read Malachi. I cannot lie. A huge sigh of relief came over me. My takeaway from reading the Old Testament is how faithful, good, and super slow to anger God is. Following that takeaway is how flawed humanity is and prone to mess up and wander. As I read it, I reminded myself that these people didn't have the Spirit of God dwelling within them as I do. So, I had to offer them such grace and mercy. They were fully captured by their human condition. Even the best of them were steeped in sin.

As I ended the book of Malachi, I was washed over with a sense of excitement, and then a thought occurred to me. For the Israelites, it will be four hundred years before they will hear anything from God again. The silence made my heart hurt, but then Jesus broke through that silence and came onto the scene with good news for us all. Hallelujah!

After reading about man's effort to reach God, finally, there is a way.  We will never be good enough, proven repeatedly in the Old Testament books. My right position with God gives me access to God. It gives me access to be in an intimate relationship with my Creator. Before I accepted Jesus' payment for my sinful condition, I was doomed to miss the mark of God's expectations. That means I was lost in my sin. I am doomed to repeat it over and over. However, I am no longer defined by that sin and am now being referred to as a saint by authors like Paul, who authored a good deal of the New Testament. That means I am defined by what Jesus did, not by what I have done.  That is not just good news. It is the best news ever.

I am so excited to start the New Testament tomorrow.

I am doing "The Bible Recap" with Tara Leigh Cobble. I use the You Version App, and it is one of the plans you can choose.  Day 274 is where the New Testament starts. The author also does a podcast to help navigate each day's reading. Each time you start a new book of the bible, there is a video by "The Bible Project" that summarizes the book.

This is well done and highly doable. It has been challenging but rewarding.

After you read this, I hope you will go and check it out. Come along on the journey.

If you read this and sense the Holy Spirit prick your conscience, do not ignore it. Respond to it in an honest conversation with Him. You see, I cannot convict you of sin, nor can I convince you of your right relationship and standing before God. What I can do is pray for you. I pray that the God of the Universe will open the eyes of your heart so that you can comprehend how much He longs to spend time with you and do life with you. I pray that you will comprehend that apart from Him, you can do nothing to be right with Him. If a still, small voice is speaking to you right now, do not ignore it. Instead, say YES to it today. I have never regretted saying yes to God's answer to my sin problem. Not once. It changed the trajectory of my life. I will thankfully never be the same again. I pray that you comprehend that you can be a saint by responding to His answer too.

If you already are in Christ, I pray that you will be immersed in God's word so that His word will live richly in you. Once we welcome Jesus as our sin solution, we can spend time continuing to conform to the norms of this world, or we can cooperate with God by His Spirit, who gladly will guide us through all of life's temptations, trials, and responses. It seems that mentioning obedience in today's culture brings a negative connotation, but I think it is a place of growth for us. 

If I am going to drive from point A to point B, the best person to ask is the one that travels it. There may be a multitude of ways you can go. Some may take you off-road, through detours, in dangerous places, but one takes you there quickly and safely. He gave us a wonderful roadmap called the Bible. It is not demanding; it is the best way to navigate this life. It doesn't promise you that there will not be trials on the journey or even storms. Jesus tells us there will be, but it is the BEST way!

The Bible Recap